First prize went to Niklas Siwczak, a mechanical engineering student at the University of Hannover in Germany. He submitted an impressive aerodynamic simulation of overtaking motorcycles, which we highlighted in a previous blog.

As the winner, Niklas won both a 150 Euro Amazon gift certificate and an invitation to our headquarters in Munich to personally present his work at SimScale and receive exclusive insights into the future of simulation technology.

We were happy to host Niklas a few weeks ago, to present him with his winner’s certificate and a cool poster of his winning design.

Following the award ceremony, Niklas spent the rest of the day in the engineering and development department of SimScale, where he met the senior engineers and learned more about the current and future functions of the 3D engineering simulation platform. His experiences and ideas were especially valuable, and will be considered in the future development of the platform.

Interview with Niklas Siwczak

We also did a brief interview of Niklas about some of his thoughts about simulation.

What did you submit to the SimScale competition?

Niklas: I simulated the airflow of two overtaking motorbikes and the result shows the benefits the trailing rider obtains from the lead rider.

Niklas’ winning contest submission shows the effect of the slipstream of overtaking motorcycles

Why do you think students should learn Computer Aided Engineering and specifically about simulation?

Niklas: First, it’s practical experience for engineering students. Furthermore, it’s great to understand real world applications and physics, and of course you are able to develop and improve your own designs and products.

What are the most important benefits of SimScale, from your student perspective?

Niklas: You can use it anywhere and anytime, so you don’t need special hardware like local computing power. It’s free for students and you have a project library where you can see projects that have been done before.

What are your overall experiences with SimScale, that all students should know?

As a future engineer, I’m fascinated by the idea of testing my own product ideas virtually on a computer, with the help of simulation. Opportunities to engage with this kind of technology while still in school are limited, because the required software programs and high-performance computers are not easily accessible. It’s a great help for me that these tools are now available through a web browser, and are free for students.

Thanks for spending the day with us, Niklas! We look forward to working more with you and with many thousands of students around the world through our Academic Program.

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